Cable-railway



A. E. NORRIS.

CABLE RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I. 1918.

Patented Nov. 16, 1.920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

A. E. MORRIS.

CABLE RAILWAY.

APPLlcAUoN FILED APR. l. 1918.

1,358,976. Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A. E. Noms. CABLE RAILWAY.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I 191B.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920..

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

narran v-srarss PATENT OFFICE. I

ALMON E. N ORRIS, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

CABLE-RAILWAY.

1,358,976. Specification of Letters Patent. Pntentgd NOV, 16, 192()Application filed April 1,1918. Serial No. 225,862.

To all whomlz't may conce/rn.' cable car from the cable as the carreaches Be it known that I, LMON E. NoRRIs, a a certain point in thetraclnkas, for incitizen of the United States, and a resident stance,the` point where the cable is diverted of Brookline, in the county ofNorfolk and from the track to the cable-driving mecha- 60 State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Hierin-and then automatically grippingthe improvement in Cable-Railways, of which car to the cable'at a pointfarther on where the following description, in connection with the cableagain leads to the track from the the accompanying drawings, is aspecilicadriving mechanism. Cableway systems of tion, like characters onthe drawings reprethis type are shown, for example, in prior 65 losenting like parts. patents to J. M. McClellon Nos. 1,096,931

This invention relates to cable railways, and 1,096,932 granted May 19,1914. and more particularly7 to means for aiito- Referring to thedrawings, the cable porinatically releasing and applying the cable tiond traveling in the direction of the argrip which is carried by the cablecar. row (Fig. 1) passes between the tracks 1 to 70 The invention willbe best understood by the sheave 5, thence down to thecable-drivi'cference to the following description when ing mechanism(not shown). Returning, it taken in connection with the accompanyingpasses over the sheave 6, over the smaller illustration of one specificembodiment guide sheave 7, between the guards 8, and thereof, while itsscope will be more particupresents thereat to the cable grip on the car7 5 larly pointed out in the appended claims. the traveling cableportion 4. As the car ln the drawings :4- approaches the sheave 6, thecable grip 3 is Figure 1 a side elevation showing a por- Caused to bereleased, the trackway being tion of the cable railway with the carapgiven a slight upward inclination thereat preaching a position whereits grip is about so as to lift the released grip clear of the 80 to bereleased from the cable; cable and clear of interference with the lig. 2is a similar view showing the posisheaves and adjoining cable portions.This tion of the car at the point where the grip lifting movement isfurther accentuated by li as again engaged the cable; a relativelyabrupt depression in the track- Fig. 3 is a plan view of the devicelocated way at 9, So that while the car is coasting 85 3o at the side ofthc trackway for operating the from the point of release to the pointwhere cable grip, the grip passes the sheave 5, and particu- Fig. i is aside elevation of the same with larly while the forward trucks aretraveling the parts in their normal position; down the incline 9, thegrip is held lifted Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the gripabove thepoint where it can interfere with 90 closing member elevated in responseto an either of the two cable strands l and 4e. As abnormal condition; jthe rear trucks pass down the incline 9, Fig. G is a rear end elevationof the cable however, the two jaws of the grip are cai', cable grip andgrip-controlling device; brought down-on either side of the cable, beanding drawn into centering alinement there- 95 so Fig. .7 is a plan viewshowing the arrangewith by the guide plates 8, and the grip is ment ofthe cable in the vicinity of the cathereupon again applied to the cableand `ble-controlling device, the car continues its cable-drawn travel.

'ln the drawings, for illustrative purposes, The cable grip may be ofany suitable or I have shown one form of the invention as desiredconstruction, such, for illustration, 100 applied to a cable road havingthe trackway as that shown in my prior Patent No. 1 on which there isadapted to travel one 1,154,652 granted Sept. 28, 1915. Such grip, ormore cars 2 provided with the cable-gripfor example, may comprise thegripping ping device 3 adapted to be engaged with or aws 3 adapted toengage the cable, and cardisengage-d from the driving cable 4, ried bythe pivoted levers 10 and 11 adapted 105 Vfhile my invention as to manyof its to be moved to open and close the jaws by features may have wideand useful applicameans of the toggle 12 operated by the uption in otherconnections and may be utilized right link 13, the latter attached to arocker in cable railways for other purposes than arm 14 carried by therock shaft 15, the

the specific one herein described, I have gripping jaws and toggle, asin my afore- 110 here illustrated the same as providing means said priorpatent, being capable of a limited for automatically releasing` the gripof each swinging movement transversely the car.

The grip may be manually applied and released when desired by means ofthe hand lever 16 .secured to the rocker arm 14, but to provide meansfor automatically applying and releasing the same, the rocker shaft isprolonged at the side of the car and has secured thereto the lever arm17 carrying the roll 18, which, at the appropriate time, is brought intoengagement with grip-operating devices located at the side of thetrackway.

The stationary grip-operating devices may be of any suitableconstruction, but herein they are so disposed that they act to releasethe grip as it approaches the sheave G and to apply the grip to thecable strand 4: after it has traveled past the sheave 5.

To this end, a suitable fixed supporting frame is provided at the sideof the trackway, such frame consisting of the horizontal supportingmembers 20, the uprights 21, inclined braces 22, the diagonal brace 23,and the cap-piece 24.

This frame provides a xed support for means which engage and move theprojecting grip-controlling member carried by the car at such time andin such direction as to open the gripping jaws, and thereafter at theappropriate time to close the same. To this end the support has securedthereto a member which presents a stationary guideway for the roll 18,such member herein comprising a plate of L-shaped cross-section andpresenting a wall 30 which has a suitably-shaped, depressed, curvedportion at the end presented to the approaching car to engage the roll18 and lift the Ysame as the car passes the stationary support.

The end of the plate 80 which is presented to the approaching roller,acts in conjunction with a coperating and similar plate 31 to provide aflared entrance mouth into which the roller enters, the walls of suchmouth converging to form a curved guideway which confines the roller toa fixed path of travel, and is preferably designed to give thegrip-releasing mechanism the most effective accelerated movement. `Whilethis guideway lifts the roller and thereby releasing the grip as the carproceeds, it thus confines the roller to a predetermined path, so thatwhen it engages the lower plate it can move neither faster nor moreslowly than prearranged, thus preventing toe sudden a release as mightoccur through the rebound of the roller from the guide plate 30 underthe momentum of the car.

The roller as it moves up the curved portion of the plate 30, turns therock shaft and opens the grip, and as it reaches the elevated horizontalportion of the plate, travels along the same maintaining the gripreleased until it reaches the opposite and downwardly curved portion ofthe plate.

At that point positive means are provided for again depressing theroller toenforce a closing movement of the grip, such means being in theform of a similar L-shaped plate presenting a curved wall which overliesthe roller in its advance and forces it down from the dotted-lineposition shown in Fig. 4t to the full-line position therein indicated.Such curved Vplate is also preferably designed to give the roller themost effective accelerated closing movement. This depression of theroller turns the rock shaft 15 in the opposite direction and enforcesthe closing movement of the jaws about the cable strand 4l.

`While the closing of the jaws is thus enforced by an extraneous memberwith which the roller 18 is brought into contact, such member is herearranged to exert a yielding pressure against the roller so that wheresome abnormal condition is present and the gripping engagement of thejaws with the cable is interfered with, no harm can result. rlhus, forexample, if the cable sticks in entering the recessed portions of thejaws, or if the presence of a cable splice interferes with the freeentrance of the cable between thejaws, or some other abnormal conditionis present which might result in damage if the closing of the cable gripwere unyieldingly enforced, the illustrative form of apparatus isarranged to yield when a normally sufficient closing pressure has beenapplied.

l F or this purpose the .depressing or gripclosing member of thestationary device is mounted upon a lever arm 33 pivoted at 13e upon thecap-piece Q4, so that it is capable of an upward movement (see Fig. 5)being normally depressed, however, to its lowermost position (the limitof which is shown in Fig. ll) by any suitable means, such as the seriesef weights 35 (Fig. 1) depending from the end of the curved plate 32 bythe red 36. The plate 32 is guided in its lifting movement by thearc-shaped member 37 secured to the end of the plate 30 and engaged byguide members 88 carried by the plate 32.

`When the car has advanced to a point which brings the roller intoengagement with the plate 32, the roller will ordinarily be forced tofollow the path provided by the upper plate 32 and the lower plate 30,and depressed to its lowermost position throwing the toggle past itscenter to close the jaws, in which position they are maintained by thetoggle, the upper movable weighted plate 32 undergoing only such slightmovement as is incidental to the increasing force'required te close thetoggle as the lat-ter moves past its center. lf some obstruction orabnormal resistance is met with, however, so that the pressure of theweighted plate 32 is insuflicient to move the toggle, the continuedmovement of the car will carry the roller along a path which mayapproach the horizontal more or less as indicated in F ig. 5, causingthe plate 32, the lever arm 33 and the weights 35 to lift toward somesuch position as is therein shown, thereby avoiding breakage which mightresult if an unyielding force were applied to depress the roller.

Herein means are also provided to indicate the presence of an abnormalcondition, such as the refusal of the grip to close. F or this purposeany suitable means may be provided, but herein for illustrative purposesI have shown an electric switch controlled by the lifting of the movablelever 33 and acting through electrical connections to control somesuitable indicating or similar device. IVhile such switch might beconnected to a device having the sole function of indicating' the fault,herein I have diagrammatically represented the switch as controlling themotor circuit 4l vv'hich feeds the motor 42 for driving the cable 4,such motor being fed fromil the power circuit 43. The switch is normallyclosed by the spring 44, but, on the failure of the grip to close, thelever 33 lifts and the angle plate carried thereby engages the end ofthe plunger 46, thereby opening the switch, cutting off the power fromthe driving' motor and stopping the operation of the cable andindicating to the attendants the factthat the described fault is4present.

In the normal operation of the apparatus as heretofore stated, -therewill be a slight but perceptible lifting movement of the weighted plateor lever 32. If the adjustment of the grip, however, is so slack orloose that it is not adapted to secure a firm grip upon the cable, suchslight lifting movement will be absent. If the grip is adjusted to exertthe required pull on the cable, there will be enough resistance inclosing the toggle to give the slight perceptible lifting movementheretofore referred to. This slight movement, therefore, affords anindication of the normal working condition of the grip. Its absenceindicates an abnormally small resistance, such as might arise from aslack grip or failure of the grip to engage the cable, while an abnormallifting' movement of the lever indicates the presence of an abnormalresistance as heretofore described.

lIt will be seen that the illustrative form of the invention avoids thenecessity of carrying abnormally great weights on the car itself toclose the grip, and provides all the necessary grip-closing forcethrough means extraneous to the car, while at the same time this forcemay be applied yieldably to take care of any abnormal resistance. Thegripclosing force may also be varied by varying ytroller,

the weights 35 so as to adapt the force to varying conditions.

lVhile I have shown and described for purposes of illustration onespecific form of the invention, it is to be understood that the sameisnot limited to the particular cation herein described, nor to thedetails or relative form or arrangement of parts, but that extensivedeviations may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit ofthe invention.

Claims.

l; In a cable railway, the combination with a track, of a car-propellingcable, a car on the track, a grip on the car, a grip controller carriedby the car, means located near the trackway to move said controller torelease the cable and hold the grip open while the car travels apredetermined distance, and means also located near the trackway and inthe path of said controller to enforce a grip-closing movement when thecar has traveled said distance. 2. In a cable railway, the combinationwith a car, of a cable grip thereon, a grip controller carried by thecar, and means automatically to open the grip and again close the sameafter the car has traveled a predetermined distance, said meanscomprising a fixed guideway formed by members between which saidcontroller is adapted to enter in the progress of the car and impartthereto a definite, prescribed grip-opening movement, and other membersbetween which said controller subsequently passes imparting thereto adelinite, prescribed gripclosing movement.

3. In a cable railway, the combination with a track, of a car-propellingcable, a car on the track, a grip on the car, a grip controller, andmeans for automatically releasing the grip, comprising guiding memberslocated near the trackway within the path of said controller and forminga guideway to actuate said controller and confine the same to a deinitegrip-opening Inovement.

4. In a cable railway, the combination with a track, of a car-propellingcable, a car onV the track, a grip on the car, a grip controller, andmeans for automatically releasing` the grip, comprising guiding memberslocated near the trackway within the path of said controller and forminga guideway to actuate said controller and conline the same to a deiinitegrip-opening movement, and means automatically and subsequently to closesaid grip.

5. In a cable railway, the combination with a track, of a car-propellingcable, a car on the track, a grip on the car, a grip conand meanslocated near the trackway to engage said grip controller during'theprogress of the car and actuate the same appliand confine it to adefinite grip-opening movement.

6. In a cable railway, the combination with a track, of a car-propellingcable, a car linkage adapted to effect a positive closing of the grip,and meanslocated within the path of said controlling member to apply ayielding grip-closing force thereto.

8. In a cable railway, the combination with a car, of a cable grip, agrip controller, means for automatically moving said controller to opensaid grip at a predetermined point, and means subsequently to close saidgrip, said grip-closing means comprising a controller-engaging memberlocated at the side of the traclzway outside the limits thereof in thepath of said controller and adapted to enforce a grip-closing movementthrough engagement of the controller therewith.

9. In a cable railway, the combination with a car, Vof a cable grip, agrip controller, means for automatically moving said controller to opensaid grip at a predetermined point, and means subsequently to close saidgrip, said grip-closing means comprising a member arranged in the pathof said grip controller and adapted to move the same to enforce agrip-closing movement, said member being yieldably mounted to yieldunder an abnormal resistance by said grip controller.

l0. In a cable railway, the combination with a car, of a cable grip, agrip controller, means for automatically moving said controller to opensaid grip at a predetermined point, and means subsequently to close saidgrip, said grip-closing means comprising a pivoted member normallyforced into a position to engage said grip controller and move the sameto a grip-controlling position while adapted to yield under an abnormalresistance by said grip controller.

l1. In a cable railway, the combination with a car, of an automaticcable grip-closing device, comprising a grip controller carried by thecar, and a yieldable grip-closing member located near the trackway inthe path of said controller and adapted to move the same from agrip-released to a grip-closing position, said member being yieldableunder an abnormal resistance.

l2. In a cable railway, the combination with a car, of an automaticcable grip-closing device, comprising a grip controller carried by thecar, and a pivoted, weighted lever presenting a member lying in. thepath of the grip controller and adapted to move the same from a positionof release to a grip-closing position. Y

i3. In a .cable railway, the combination 7ith a car, of a cable grip, agrip-actuating member on the car having-a vertical gripclosing movementand means extraneous to the car and located near the rtraclrway forapplying a yieldable grip-closing force to the grip actuating member ata predetermined point in the travel of the car.

il. In a cable railway system, the combination with a car, of a cablegrip, a controller projecting from the car, and adapted when elevated torelease the grip and when depressed to close the same, and an automatic.controlling device located near the traclrway comprising a stationarysupport, curved guiding members between which said controller is adaptedto pass as the car approach-es said support and by which is adapted tobe elevated to release the grip, said support also presenting guidemembers adapt-ed to maintain said controller elevated for an intervaland presenting also curved and depressed guide members between whichsaid controller passes and by which it is adapted to be depressed toclose the grip, the upper one of said deguide members being verticallyan abnormal resistance by said controller to permit the passage of saidcar without depressing said controlling member.

l5. In a cable railway, the combination with a. car, of a cable gripthereupon, means acting to close said grip when the car reaches apredetermined position, and electrically responsive means 'to indicatethe failure of said grip-closing means to acts 16. In a cable railway,the combination with a car, of a cable grip carried thereby, meansadjacent the traclrway to automatically close said grip when saidcarreaches a .predetermined position, and means to cause stoppage of thecable-driving mechanism when the grip-closing means fails to act.

I7. In a cable railway system, the combination with a car, of a cablegrip thereupon, means adjacent the trackway to close the grip in apredetermined position of the car, said means being yieldable under anabnormal resistance by the grip-closing mechanism, and electricalmeansto indicate the failure of said grip to close.

1S. In a cable railway system, the combination with a car, of a cablegrip, automatic means for .controlling the opening and closing of thegrip, and means to indicate the failure of said grip-controllingmechanism to act.

19. In a cable railway system, the compressed yieldable under binationwith a car, of a cable grip, a grip controller, a member adjacent thetracliway lying within the path of the controller and adapted to movethe same to close the grip when the car reaches a predeterminedposition, said member being yieldable under an abnormal resistance bythe grip-closing mechanism, a switch adapted to be moved under theyielding movement of said member, a motor for driving the cable, and acircuit controlling said motor controlled by said switch.

20. In a cable railway the combination with a cable of driving mechanismthereforl` a car, a cable grip carried by said car, a controlling memberalso carried thereby, means adjacent the railway to engage said memberin the travel of the car and move the same into cable gripping relationand devices to stop the cable driving mechanism when the controllingmember fails to move under engagement with said means.

2l. In a cable railway the combination with a cable of driving mechanismtherefor, a car, a cable grip and controlling member therefor carried bysaid car, means adjacent the railway including a movable member adaptedto engage said `controlling member in the travel of the car and move thesame into cable gripping relation and devices adapted to control thecable driving mechanism when said movable member is moved by engagementwith said controlling member.

22. In a cable railway, the combination with a cable of drivingmechanism therefor, a car, a cable grip and controlling member therefor'carried by said car, means adjacent the railway including a movablemember adapted to engage said controlling member in the travel of thecar and move the same into cable gripping relation, said member having aslight movement when the gripping member functions and relatively greatmovement when the gripping member fails to function.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ALMON E. NORRIS.

